Stephen Hendry will face nephew James Cahill after the World Snooker Championship qualifying draw was announced on Tuesday.
The seven-time world champion has only played three matches during the 2022/23 campaign, losing all three and winning just a single frame.
Hendry’s most recent outing on the professional circuit was way back in November, when he lost 5-0 to Matthew Stevens in the German Masters preliminaries.
The 54 year-old is able to compete through an invitational tour card, which was somewhat controversially renewed at the end of last season.
Cahill, who is the nephew of Hendry’s ex-wife, represents an intriguing first-round opponent in the World Snooker Championship qualifying draw.
The Englishman famously reached the last 16 as an amateur in 2019, beating Ronnie O’Sullivan in the first round at the Crucible Theatre.
The Format
As in previous years, a tiered structure is in operation for the qualifiers with the first round taking place between the players seeded from 81-112 against those seeded from 113-144.
A number of amateurs have been invited as top-ups – some through invitations by the WPBSA for achievements in the last year and others as replacements for the currently suspended group of professionals.
The players seeded from 49 to 80 – based on the world rankings list – will enter the fray and take on the winners from round one in round two.
Those ranked from 17-48 will finally join the action in round three, with two victories then required to seal one of the 16 coveted spots at the venue stages.
In a move that will please a lot of players and fans, every round will be contested over two sessions and 19 frames.
The qualifiers take place from April 3-12 at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield.
The Draw
Aside from Hendry’s fixture, there are a number of other interesting battles in the 2023 World Snooker Championship qualifying draw.
Former world champion Ken Doherty will face 12-time women’s world champion Reanne Evans, while women’s world number one Mink Nutcharut takes on Dechawat Poomjaeng in an all-Thai affair.
Ng On Yee encounters Michael Holt – one of the amateur top-ups in the field – and her Hong Kong compatriot Marco Fu entertains Martin O’Donnell.
The winner of the latter tie will challenge Jimmy White, who after a resurgent season will begin his bid to return to the Crucible Theatre for the first time since 2006 in the second round.
Qualifier 1
| Route | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 |
| 1 | A. Hugill vs G. Pragnell | Winner vs L. Kleckers | Winner vs R. Day | |
| Winner route 1 vs Winner route 2 | ||||
| 2 | F. O’Brien vs L. Davies | Winner vs S. Donaldson | Winner vs Yuan S. |
Qualifier 2
| Route | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 |
| 3 | Z Surety vs F. Ajaib | Winner vs Xu S. | Winner vs Jamie Jones | |
| Winner route 3 vs Winner route 4 | ||||
| 4 | K. Doherty vs R. Evans | Winner vs H. Miah | Winner vs Pang J. |
Qualifier 3
| Route | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 |
| 5 | Ng O.Y. vs M. Holt | Winner vs O. Lines | Winner vs A. Hamilton | |
| Winner route 5 vs Winner route 6 | ||||
| 6 | B. Mertens vs V. Sarkis | Winner vs J. Leclercq | Winner vs J. Robertson |
Qualifier 4
| Route | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 |
| 7 | R. Thomerson vs I. Martin | Winner vs E. Slessor | Winner vs L. Highfield | |
| Winner route 7 vs Winner route 8 | ||||
| 8 | J. Cahill vs S. Hendry | Winner vs Lei P. | Winner vs Zhou Y. |
Qualifier 5
| Route | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 |
| 9 | A. Pagett vs Gao Y. | Winner vs D. Jones | Winner vs H. Vafaei | |
| Winner route 9 vs Winner route 10 | ||||
| 10 | O. Brown vs R. Muir | Winner vs J. Page | Winner vs M. Gould |
Qualifier 6
| Route | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 |
| 11 | A. Lee vs A. Higginson | Winner vs L. Heathcote | Winner vs J. O’Connor | |
| Winner route 11 vs Winner route 12 | ||||
| 12 | S. O’Sullivan vs L. Graham | Winner vs D. Grace | Winner vs S. Craigie |
Qualifier 7
| Route | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 |
| 13 | Peng Y. vs M. Georgiou | Winner vs M. Davis | Winner vs Lyu H. | |
| Winner route 13 vs Winner route 14 | ||||
| 14 | S. Lam vs L. Pullen | Winner vs M. Mann | Winner vs J. Perry |
Qualifier 8
| Route | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 |
| 15 | D. Poomjaeng vs M. Nutcharut | Winner vs M. Stevens | Winner vs J. Clarke | |
| Winner route 15 vs Winner route 16 | ||||
| 16 | B. Pinches vs R. Bulman | Winner vs F. Patrick | Winner vs D. Gilbert |
Qualifier 9
| Route | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 |
| 17 | J. Astley vs S. Hallworth | Winner vs C. Steadman | Winner vs A. McGill | |
| Winner route 17 vs Winner route 18 | ||||
| 18 | H. Jain vs D. Wells | Winner vs B. Woollaston | Winner vs Cao Y. |
Qualifier 10
| Route | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 |
| 19 | M. Fu vs M. O’Donnell | Winner vs J. White | Winner vs N. Saengkham | |
| Winner route 19 vs Winner route 20 | ||||
| 20 | A. Petrov vs S. Moody | Winner vs Zhang A. | Winner vs Xiao G. |
Qualifier 11
| Route | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 |
| 21 | J. O’Neill vs B. Révész | Winner vs A. Hicks | Winner vs G. Dott | |
| Winner route 21 vs Winner route 22 | ||||
| 22 | D. Young vs H. Pinhey | Winner vs P. Lines | Winner vs M. Selt |
Qualifier 12
| Route | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 |
| 23 | M. Ibrahim vs A. Kazakov | Winner vs M. Joyce | Winner vs T. Un-Nooh | |
| Winner route 23 vs Winner route 24 | ||||
| 24 | D. Emery vs Ma H. | Winner vs I. Burns | Winner vs R. Walden |
Qualifier 13
| Route | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 |
| 25 | M. Judge vs F. Nuessle | Winner vs Si J. | Winner vs T. Ford | |
| Winner route 25 vs Winner route 26 | ||||
| 26 | A. Iqbal vs J. Kendrick | Winner vs D. Dale | Winner vs J. Brown |
Qualifier 14
| Route | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 |
| 27 | A. Hill vs S. Nuanthakhamjan | Winner vs M. White | Winner vs C. Wakelin | |
| Winner route 27 vs Winner route 28 | ||||
| 28 | A. Taylor vs F. Kalnins | Winner vs Wu Y. | Winner vs Tian P. |
Qualifier 15
| Route | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 |
| 29 | M. Asif vs I. Boiko | Winner vs S. Carrington | Winner vs Fan Z. | |
| Winner route 29 vs Winner route 30 | ||||
| 30 | A. Burden vs R. Kenna | Winner vs A. Ursenbacher | Winner vs S. Maguire |
Qualifier 16
| Route | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 |
| 31 | A. Duffy vs B. Castle | Winner vs Jak Jones | Winner vs R. Williams | |
| Winner route 31 vs Winner route 32 | ||||
| 32 | D. Lilley vs R. McLeod | Winner vs G. Greene | Winner vs B. Hawkins |
Featured photo credit: WST
Yes, the second round draw onwards was basically determined immediately after the finish of the WST Classic last Wednesday. However, there is one change, with Rod Lawler being replaced by Rory McLeod.
The additional amateur top-ups come from the UK Q School Order of Merit, minus Sunny Akani and Kurt Maflin. But it means the likes of Ash Carty and Bai Yulu don’t get a game.
I will be there from the first day, enjoying the rare pleasure of an 8-table event!
Cahill has spoken in the past about how he’s never received any support from Hendry, although given he’s not been with Mandy since 2014 then I’m not sure why he would’ve expected too much. That said, Cahill is meant to be close friends with Hendry’s oldest son Blaine.
You might want to make it clear which J Jones is Jak or Jamie.
One first round tie that caught my eye is Fergal O’Brien v Liam Davies. A lot of hype around the Welshman who beat the 1999 British Open champion last year in the qualifiers.
Ha, good point regarding the JJs.
Rod Lawler dont play for what??
Great draw for Hawkins, looks by far easiest section, certain to qualify
Is there commentary ear pieces at this event, for table 1 at least? My son wants to go but I’m worried he’ll find it challenging if there’s no commentary… I know it’s an experience to watch without commentary, but he’s only just turned 11…
Hello, Neil. There is commentary for table 1, but I’m not sure about ear pieces as I’m not at the venue. You might try asking someone at WST.